The Red Games
by Catherine Lockheart
Summary: "It's too late to undo my mistakes..." 24 tributes. 1 winner. Let the Red Games begin.
1. The Reaping

A/N: Hey! I'm super duper bored so I'm going to write and LOK/HG fanfic. Hope you enjoy! No flames please! =D

**Chapter 1: The Reaping**

When I wake up, I feel decent- for about thirty seconds. Then, suddenly, I remember.

_It's today._

I get out of bed, trying to tell myself it'll be alright.

_My name is only in there five times,_ I tell myself. _I'm gonna be okay. _I can hear my heart pounding in my chest.

_It's today._

I walk over to the door and open it. There stands my friend, Bolin.

"Hey Korra," he says, trying to maintain his usual enthusiasm but has a hard time.

"Hey, Bolin. Come on in," I say, faking a smile.

Bolin and I sit at the table, eating the breakfast my mom made us. I feel bad for Bolin. His parents were killed when District 9 was attacked by Fire Nation soldiers.

"You excited about today?" Bolin says sarcastically.

"Ha ha, no," I say, rolling my eyes.

"Me neither," Bolin says.

"Hopefully it's not you, or me," I say.

Today was the day of the reaping. Each year, one boy and one girl from each district, 24 in all, are chosen to compete in the annual Red Games. When the Fire Nation defeated the Avatar, they took over the world and established the Red Games. It makes me sick to my stomach, having to watch 23 of those kids die, and one kid live. Hopefully, I'll never have to experience it.

"You okay, Korra?" Bolin asks.

"Yeah, I'm... fine," I say. I stand up and say, "Wanna hunt?"

"Sure," Bolin replies.

We make sure none of the Lookouts were watching us, and then make a mad dash to the fence. It's covered in snow from the winter weather we've been having. I slip between the two barbwires, careful not to get poked by one of them. Bolin follows behind, and we head into the icy forest.

"Korra, see if you can use the ice from that tree to get that bird," Bolin says, pointing at the mockingbird-sparrow. I use my waterbending to pull the ice hanging off a tree and launch it at the mockingbird-sparrow. It impales it and it goes down.

"Nice!" Bolin says. We find the bird lying dead a few feet away from us. I'm about to pick it up when we see a hovercraft flying above us.

"Crap, we've gotta go!" Bolin says, grabbing my arm. We hurry out of the forest and head back to the village.

Bolin and I part when we reach my house.

"Wear something pretty," Bolin says as I go inside.

I change into a casual blue gown and I put my hair into a braid down my back. My mother and I walk down to the Plaza and she gets into the crowd of anxious parents. A Lookout pricks my finger with a small needle and places my finger onto the section of a paper that has my full name on it: Myzwaki, Korra.

I stand next to Bolin in the crowd, looking up at the stage.

"You nervous?" I ask.

"Not for me," Bolin sighs. I know exactly what he's talking about. His older brother, Mako, was eighteen, and this was his last reaping. But he had taken terasse, so his name is in there 20 times. I tell Bolin it'll be okay. I know a few kids who had their name in the reaping bowl way more times than Mako did.

"Hello, everyone!" says our escort, Ada. Ada is a plump lady who just barely fits into the dress she's wearing. She was not a pleasant sight.

"Today is a very special day. One boy and one girl will be given the honor to compete in the seventy-fourth annual Red Games!" She expects cheering, but instead she gets utter silence. "Let's begin, shall we? Boys first!" She reaches her hand into the bowl and pulls out a slip of paper from the very bottom. Ada walks over to the microphone and reads the slip of paper. Bolin's worst fear had come true.

"Mako Uematsu," Ada says proudly.

All eyes were on Mako. He almost resembles his brother, with his dark brown hair. He wears his red scarf they say he got from his father. He's shaking with fear, I can tell. He goes onstage and stands on the boys' side.

"Any volunteers?" Ada says into the microphone. I would expect Bolin to volunteer, but instead, he stood as still as a rock. I wrap my arms around him and tell him everything's going to be okay. I don't expect him to believe me.

"Alright, onto the girls," Ada says excitedly. She pulls out one of the slips at the very top. She walks over to the microphone and says the name.

"Leah Yiruma,"

"I volunteer!" I shout before I realize what I'm doing. All that's going into my mind as I run to the stage is, _now look what you've done, Korra! The two most important things in Bolin's life are now being sent into an arena to kill each other! _

"Lovely!" Ada says excitedly.

"Korra, no!" Bolin shouts. I try not to listen to his cries. Mako's staring at me with cold eyes.

"May I ask what your name is?" Ada asks me when I get onstage.

"Korra Myzwaki," I say. I look into the crowd and see Bolin holding back tears. I want to go hug him, but it's too late for me to now.

Mako and I shake hands. He grips my hand tight, practically cutting off all blood flow in my veins.

Inside the Justice Building, I sit on the couch, crying.

"You have three minutes," a Fire Nation soldier says when my mother comes in. She rushes over and hugs me. I sob as my mom holds me in her arms.

"Be strong, Korra. You're a better fighter than all of them. You have the best chance of winning," Mom says.

"But if I win… that means Mako is dead." I say, wiping my tears.

"Your three minutes are up!" the Fire Nation soldier says.

"Don't let them find out," Mom whispers into my ear. I know exactly what she's talking about. It's a secret only me and my mom know. Not even Bolin knows.

I'm the Avatar.


	2. Someone There to Catch Me

**Chapter 2: Someone There to Catch Me**

Mako and I are silent on the train. He doesn't look happy. Of course, no one would be happy in this situation, but he looks seriously unhappy. Maybe it's because I volunteered?

"Mako-" I begin, but Mako cuts me off.

"Do you realize what you've done?" Mako's not just unhappy, he's furious. "My brother is going to have to watch one of us die! I can't believe you just volunteered like that!"

"I don't know what came over me, Mako! It's like my feet had a mind of their own," I try to explain myself, but Mako won't listen. Now he's pretending I'm not there. He's being so frustrating! I just sigh and say, "I'm going to the bathroom,"

I lied, because I don't even go inside the restroom. I just need to leave that room for a little bit to cool myself down.

I sit on a comfy couch in another train car. I lean my head back and relax on the couch, and before I know it, I'm asleep.

My dreams are full of past Red Games, where a tribute died a violent death. I don't want to die like that. I don't want to die at all, but if Mako's going home, I have to.

I wake up in the middle of the night. Despite the train going 200 miles per hour, the Capitol is very far away from District 9. I lay down on the couch and go back to sleep.

"Korra," a voice whispers to me. "Korra. Korra, wake up,"

I wake up slowly. The sun is just beginning to rise. Mako's kneeling down on the floor, looking at me.

"What do you want?" I ask.

"Do you want to see the recap of the reaping?" Mako asks, his tone as cold as ever.

"Uh, sure, I guess," I say, still only half-awake.

Mako and I sit on the couch, watching the reapings. First in District 1, the female tribute is a girl with long, wavy black hair and green eyes. The male tribute is a black-haired boy and golden eyes. I can't help but feel easily threatened by this guy.

The reapings go by unusually slow. In District 7, there's a small girl with dark brown hair and brown eyes. _She can't be any older than ten_, I think. I begin to feel sorry for her.

When they show the reaping in District 9, I feel horrible as I watch myself volunteer. I can feel Mako glaring at me, even though I can't see it.

In District 10, there's a boy with long black hair (for a boy) and green eyes. He looks even unhappier than Mako.

After watching the recaps, Mako leaves the room. I try to go back to sleep until Mako comes back, saying that our mentor wants to meet us.

Mako and I sit at the table eating breakfast silently. After a couple of minutes, our mentor comes in. It's an elderly lady with long, gray hair and blue eyes. She says her name is Katara. She was the first winner of the Red Games, she won when she was fifteen.

"I'm so sorry about the terrible fate that has come upon you two," Katara says generously. "I will do what ever I can to make sure one of you comes home safely."

_One of us._

"So, Ka-tar-uh," Mako says. "What are some strategies for survival you have for us? You know, for survival."

"Ah, survival," Katara looks up. "What would you like to know?"

Katara talks to us about how to find shelter, how to find food, and more. Before we know it, the train arrives to the Capitol. Mako and I look outside the window at the beautiful sights of Ba Sing Se. I sigh. Ba Sing Se is possibly the most beautiful part of what was once the Earth Kingdom, but it also gives me the chills because of the reason we're here.

Mako and I are taken to the Remake Center. My artists, Gina, Haru, and Fabula bathe me, wax my arms and legs, fix up my hair, and all kinds of torture. Afterwords, I stand alone in a room while looking completely different. My hair was once down to my knees, now it's up to the middle of my back. My arms and legs were pretty hairy, and now all that's gone. Somebody enters the room and closes the door behind her. "Hello, my name is Pema, I am your stylist," she says. She inspects my body. I have the urge to try to cover myself, but I resist it.

"Very well, very well indeed," Pema says. "Put your robe on and we'll talk,"

Pema talks to me about what we will wear during the opening ceremony. It's nothing really big. I will be wearing a blue dress with ruffles on the skirt and long sleeves. It really is beautiful, but it's nothing compared to what I've seen in past opening ceremonies.

I put on the sparkling blue dress and spin around in it a couple times in the mirror. I've gotta admit, I'm surprised I was able to look this beautiful. In District 9, there was never a need to look as stunning as this.

Mako is already outside with his stylist. We stand there for a little bit, then we get into our chariot. Mako refuses to look at me. What's his problem with me? Is he just angry because I volunteered? The thought enrages me.

Before I know it, the chariot starts to move and I nearly fall out of it. Mako grabs my arm and pulls me up.

"Careful," he says. "Don't want a tribute dying before the Games,"

"Like you care if I die or not," I hiss.

"What? Who ever said I didn't care? You're my brother's best friend, he'd be heartbroken if you died. I wouldn't be able to stand seeing him like that." Mako says.

"But... why have you been treating me so coldly, then?" I ask.

"I guess I was just mad," Wow. This is a sudden change of character for him. First he despises me, now he's acting like we're friends. I've seen him a few times around town, and Bolin talks about him sometimes, but we've always just been acquaintances, never friends.

"Take my hand," Mako declares.

"What? No." I say.

"It'll get us more sponsors," he says out of the corner of his mouth.

"Fine," I grab his hand.

When the chariot is pulled up in front of the entire Capitol, the crowd is already going wild. The giant billboard shows Mako and me standing close to each other, hand in hand. I can see Bolin getting confused at this sight while watching on the giant screen in District 9.

I slowly slip my hand away from Mako's, then he grabs back onto it and says, "I think I'm about to fall out of this thing. I need someone there to catch me."

I try to fake happiness just to gain sponsors. I smile and wave at some people, and sometimes I blow a kiss. It's funny watching a boy "catch" the kiss and put it in his pocket. When all the chariots are lined up next to each other in rows, Fire Lord Azula (I've always been confused that the Fire Lord is a girl) stands and greets us. She scares the heck out of me.

The chariots pull into the Training Center, which will be our home/prison until the Games begin. Mako and I are taken up to the ninth floor, since we're from District 9. We have dinner and I head straight to my room. After a couple minutes of trying to sleep, someone knocks on the door.

"What?" I snap. Mako comes in and says, "Hey,"

"What? First you hate me and now you want to be best friends?" I am so annoyed of this guy. I can't believe him and Bolin are related. They're nothing alike!

"I just wanted to apologize," Mako says.

"Too late, Mako. We're already being forced into an arena to kill each other." I say, trying to sound like Mako when he was mad.

"Korra, I just wanted to say thank-"

"Go away, Mako,"

"But-"

"Go!" I yell. Mako leaves, shutting the door behind him. I immediately begin to cry. I wasn't crying because of what I said to Mako. I don't know why I was crying.

I don't know.


End file.
